


no gods no masters

by Itch



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Angel! Felix, Angst, Cuddles, Fire, Fluff, Human! Sylvain, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Nightmares, Tags will update as chapters are posted, fallen angel AU, supernatural characters - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-06
Updated: 2019-12-15
Packaged: 2021-02-01 22:34:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21334702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Itch/pseuds/Itch
Summary: Sylvain Jose Gautier is a simple man. He likes women, he likes men, and he likes takeaway and alcohol on a Friday night. Felix Hugo Fraldarius is not a simple man, because he isn't a man. He's an angel, banished from Heaven for breaking a rule. He denies that his violation was worth the exile, and is determined to prove himself, and regain his position in Heaven, to whilst ousting the demon's who have taken root there. A tale of what it means to be 'home', love, friendship, and how far one man will go to find out the truth.
Relationships: Annette Fantine Dominic & Mercedes von Martritz, Ashe Duran | Ashe Ubert & Dedue Molinaro, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Claude von Riegan, Dorothea Arnault & Ingrid Brandl Galatea, Sylvain Jose Gautier/Felix Hugo Fraldarius
Comments: 14
Kudos: 105





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is for NaNoWriMo 2019, so fingers crossed it's going to tip into 50k - but watch this space about that! I've dubbed it my magnum opus as I don't know if I'll ever write a fic this long again, so hey this one better be good right?

_ The treachery of demons is nothing compared to the betrayal of an angel. - Brenna Yovanoff, The Space Between. _

Felix had his back pressed flush to the marble wall. It was not a common occurrence, being cornered like this, and he didn’t like it. In the back of his mind, he vowed to not let it happen again. He had let himself be chased, because he had _run, _like a _coward_, through the winding avenues and passageways. He had been cornered through, and it was now time to stand and fight. It was an alright stage to fight on though, a wide open area, no places for his opponent to hide. His sword was clutched in his hand, the blade hungry for battle, but he held back, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. It was the first thing he had learnt in his training; head first reckless didn’t get anyone anywhere. Patience, taking the time to watch the enemy for where their guard dropped, _ that _ was how you won the fight. 

“You broke the most sacred law.” The man in front of him drawled, spinning his own sword before bringing it to point directly at Felix’s throat. “You revealed yourself to a _ human _ , Felix Fraldarius, angel of the broken and the _ damned _ .” Felix hissed at his full title and brought the hilt of his sword to the side of his face, weapon in a diagonal line like a makeshift shield. There was spite in the other’s words, and he didn’t like it. He wanted to cut the other’s tongue out, make him regret that his name had ever tumbled across it and fell from his lips. Alas, he was no match for Nemesis, and he knew that deep inside him, but that didn’t mean he was going to give up without putting up a good fight. A nagging part of his brain latched on to the way Nemesis said ‘the’ most sacred law. Not _ our _most sacred law. It bothered him, the words not quite sitting right in his chest. 

“I had no _ choice, _ he was going to die otherwise.” Felix snarled, ducking to the right as his enemy jabbed forward, not allowing Felix to make the first move. There was no doubt about it, Nemesis was aiming to kill him. Felix wasn’t going to lie, he didn’t understand the issue anyway. He was an angel, for fuck’s sake, he couldn’t just stand there and watch someone be torn apart by a bloodthirsty demon, could he? It wasn’t like he shook the guy’s hand and said ‘Hi, I’m Felix, I’m an angel, now sit back whilst I save your sorry ass. Okay, see ya later!’ and flew off in a flap of his wings. No, he had fought with his back turned, and left before the human could say anything except a strained _ ‘What? _’ when Felix’s wings appeared. It wasn’t just for fun and games, it had been a life-or-death choice.

“We always have a choice Felix. You _ chose _to betray us.”

“I didn’t _ betray _ you!” He hollered, taking the chance to throw himself forward, but he chose wrong, anger getting the better of him. Betrayal was a strong word, and Felix didn’t appreciate it being thrown in his face. He hadn’t betrayed anyone. Seiros always taught them to save the humans, wherever they could. They were _ angels _after all, destined to spend their days at war with the demons who crept up through the cracks from Hell onto Earth. Betrayal would have been ignoring her teachings. Nemesis’ sword sank between his ribs and he grunted wetly, teal coloured Grace slipping from his lips like blood. He looked down at the way the sword was buried in his abdomen and he spat a mouthful of Grace out onto Nemesis’ hands, choking back a groan of pain.

“Oh, poor sweet Felix. You once were the angel of the broken and the damned, and, well now you just _ are _ the broken and the damned. Such a poor boy. Let’s see if that _ human _ of yours can help you, and _save_ you, like you saved him, hmm?” Felix wheezed what sounded a lot like _ fuck you _ as Nemesis reached out a hand, finger tracing a line in the air to split the dimension, a wide opening big enough for a man to fit through appearing following the path of his finger. Nemesis hissed a laugh, and threw him off his blade, down, down, _ down _. His wings expanded in an attempt to break his fall, but he didn’t have the strength to do anything as his Grace leaked out, leaving a glittering blue trail, like tiny stars, as he plummeted towards Earth. He reached one hand up towards the rapidly shrinking image of his home, and clenched his fist, as if he was somehow trying to grab back onto a ledge. The gap in the dimension snapped shut, closing him out. Then his head tipped back, and he passed out.


	2. Chapter One - Bathtime Tea and Pizza.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sylvain comes home to find a mess, and someone in his bathroom. Felix finds himself at the hands of a human.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is officially chapter one, ignoring what Ao3 says because the other one was the Prologue, I know, confusing.

_ Few people when meeting for the first time, feel that meeting each other was the purpose of their life - Amit Kalantri, One Bucket of Tears _

Sylvain José Gautier was a simple man. He liked women, he liked men, he liked alcohol, and he liked Indian takeaway on a Friday night. That was his plan for that particular night, to go home and collapse on his couch, order way too much food and slum it watching some random comedy sitcom until the wee hours of the morning, when he dutifully would pass out where he lay. Pass out that was, until the sun woke him up at the crack of dawn by streaming through the curtain he had forgotten to close. The flimsy white carrier bag he was carrying his nightly booze in bumped against his leg as he rummaged in his pocket for his keys, whistling a merry tune, a jarring harmony to the jangle of his keychains. His demeanour was false, as it always was. He felt like warmed up shit, and was deep down planning on not actually ordering the food, but getting blackout drunk and passing out about three hours earlier than his schedule initially dictated. Maybe he could finally drown out his nightmares in cheap own brand store whiskey. Or maybe he would just puke and feel worse. Either way, it had to be worth a shot. 

As the door to his apartment swung open, hinges creaking like a cheap horror movie sound effect, he dropped the bag, shattering the bottle inside it. He had larger things to think about than broken bottle however. His apartment was a  _ wreck. _ It was like something very big, and very clumsy, had stumbled around, knocking over everything feasibly possible and then things that weren’t. The words bull and china shop came to mind, although if someone had managed to sneak a bull into his flat he would have to give them credit for skill. An entire bookcase was now leaning on the back of his couch, his books a mess on the floor. What the  _ fuck  _ had happened in here? A cough, and the sound of someone vomiting from the bathroom drew his attention. Oh no -- it’s the ghost of Sylvain’s future come to haunt him, sort of like A Christmas Carol, but less Christmas. Sylvain hoped it was less creepy chained-up ghost as well, but at this point he would take anything as a reasonable explanation. The fact that a ghost was currently the top contender for a ‘reasonable explanation’ was something else entirely Sylvain decided he should revisit later on.

“Are you… alright in there?” He called, before smacking himself on the forehead with his palm.  _ Okay, nutsack, new rule, don’t ask whoever broke into your house if THEY are okay,  _ he scolded himself, closing the front door behind him. “Scratch that. What are you doing in my house?” As he was about to march in there and demand to know what someone was doing ransacking his house and then vomiting in it, he spotted something on the floor that was decidedly not his. It also didn’t seem human. It had to be human though, because what else could produce a teal blue… slime? He knelt down and stuck his fingers in it (because that is obviously what a sane person does when they see a mysterious slimy substance, touch it), pulling his hand back quickly when it was not only rather tacky, but warm. He raised his hand to his nose, sniffing it tentatively. It didn't smell of anything, except maybe the faintest whiff of what Sylvain decided was pine needles. “Okay, what the fuck.” His mouth mirrored his brain as he wiped his hand on his jeans, and headed into the bathroom to have a look at the intruder. He knew for certain that was where the intruder was, because all the way alongside the floor was the teal goo, spotted as if it had been dripping from something. It reminded him in a way of the manner in which his blood had dripped from his nose the night he had broken it; but nothing bled that colour. There’s no way it was blood.

The issue was, that it was something in the blood family. Felix had landed with a crunch in Sylvain’s living room, wings falling limply around him and knocking over every fucking thing they touched. In his weakened state, they were cumbersome and heavy, unable to summon the energy to make them leave their corporeal form, and part of him wished he could cut them off, burn the feathers and blow the ashes into the wind to fly away never to be seen again. He’d pulled himself up, knocking more over, glad nothing seemed to be breakab-  _ smash.  _ Oops. Glad not  _ much _ seemed to be breakable. He had felt bile burning his throat, and he had swallowed it to force himself to stagger to the bathroom, deciding it had to be somewhere close by in an apartment this small. He hadn’t been wrong, and had been hunched over ever since, bile and Grace drooling from his mouth, one hand pressed hard against the wound to his ribs. He wouldn’t die, he was still an angel, but that didn’t mean he didn’t feel pain. At least, he  _ hoped  _ he wouldn’t die, but maybe the rules on Earth concerning angel injuries were different. He needed to get up, get out of here,  _ hide  _ before someone -

“What. The entire fuck. Is going on.” Shit. 

Sylvain was sat in the bathroom, knees halfway to his chest, being careful not to lean on what were  _ actual feathers _ sprouting from the man’s back. He was in awe, but also just kind of disgusted. Awe that someone who called himself an angel was on his bathroom floor, but the whole vomiting and bleeding thing ruined the moment pretty damn quickly. 

“So, you’re an angel.” Felix nodded as he spat out what was hopefully the last foul tasting mouthful of blood/Grace into the toilet bowl, finally sitting back to lean against the cool tiled wall. Sylvain wondered how someone like him could be an angel. He assumed angel’s were all either women, or  _ ripped  _ men with blonde gold hair, white togas and trumpets. Not men with frowns, and long dark hair, wearing what looked like a type of cloth armour, and a  _ sword  _ on their waist. Sword might be an exaggeration, it was more like a dagger, but still. A bladed weapon. Why do angels need to be armed? “You’re an angel… with a knife.” Felix snorted a little at that, unsheathing the blade to show Sylvain. 

“I am indeed, an angel with a knife.” He twirled it in his fingers, and then retched some more. Sylvain winced, running a hand through his hair. This had not been in his plans for the night. His nightly plans were shattered in a plastic bag on the floor right now, probably ruining the floorboards. 

“So, can I ask what you’re doing in my apartment? I mean… I thought someone had broken in to steal shit, and now I’m rethinking the whole stealing thing, but I would still really like to know what you’re doing in my house. And also how you got in, because I know I locked the door when I left.” Felix wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and swore, index finger and thumb pinching the bridge of his nose. 

“I broke the so called Golden Rule of Heaven. I exposed myself to a human.”

“You showed someone your di-”

“No, I exposed my true form, the one you see in front of you. Why did your mind go straight to my dick?” Sylvain coughed in embarrassment, pretending he had something stuck in his throat. Felix could see right through him, but decided not to press him any further. “A human saw my wings, and saw me fight off a demon, and then I left. I shouldn’t have done what I did, but without doing it, the human would have died.”  _ The human that is you, and damn am I glad I wiped your memory,  _ Felix thought as he finally found his stomach had stopped churning. He glanced down as the wound on his side and pressed his fingers a little more, watching the way he was still bleeding. Nemesis had done a right number on him. Bastard.

“Do you want a hand? I have bandages and stuff in the kitchen. I also have a certificate proving I’m trained in giving first aid, if you need to see it.” Sylvain winked as he stood up, using the bath to push himself to his feet. “In fact, you might be best off with a bath as well. Make sure the wound is clean, and then I’ll patch you up.” Felix blew air out of his nose in disdain. 

“I don’t need your help.” Sylvain wasn’t listening as he put the plug into the bath, and turned the hot tap on to full. 

“Yeah and the Pope isn’t Catholic. Shut up and get naked.”

Felix waited till Sylvain was no longer in the room to laugh to himself about the Pope joke. He didn’t want Sylvain to know he found him funny, because he got the vibe that once he knew he could make Felix laugh, he wouldn’t stop trying. He tried to sit up a little straighter, and found his body unwilling to cooperate. Okay, maybe Sylvain was right, and he did need a little help. Help from a human. How  _ embarrassing _ . He fumbled to snap his fingers, clothing disapparating, and he shivered. Never before had he thought about the fact that Heaven was always the perfect temperature, and the human world simply wasn’t like that. The tiles were cold on his ass and back, and his skin rose up in goosebumps. He ran a finger slowly down his arm, watching the way the hairs on his arm were standing up to attention to try and form an insulating barrier. It occurred to him then -- he had so much to learn about the human world and the way it worked, and having Sylvain on his side would be indefinitely useful. Not that he planned to stay with him for long. Just long enough to learn how to survive by himself. Or long enough he could work out a plan to get back to Heaven. Thinking of the devil, Sylvain reappeared with a red first aid box in his hand, and he turned the hot tap off, switching to pour cold water in, so the steaming bath would become a comfortable temperature. Felix noticed he had also come in carrying a large towel, and a pair of trousers that looked old, but comfortable. 

“Where did your clothes go?” Sylvain asked, busying himself with unpacking the medical supplies. “I was going to wash them for you. I brought an old pair of my slacks and some boxers - I promise they’re clean, and I think they should fit you, though maybe just a bit big.” He turned to look over his shoulder at Felix, giving him yet another toothy smile. “I don’t have any shirts that will accomodate wings unfortunately, I haven’t found a shop that sells that sort of thing.” Felix snapped his fingers again, the pile of worn clothes falling into existence beside Sylvain’s knee.

“There. But you don’t have to, I can-” 

“No, you get in that bath, and rest _ . _ You look like shit.”  _ Thanks. _ “I will go get these in the wash. Do you want something to drink? No, better question, what do you drink? Water? I can make tea? Puking always makes me dehydrated.” He had already gathered Felix’s clothes into his arms by the time Felix processed his words, and stood waiting in the doorway, watching him.

“Uh… tea? No sugar. No milk.” With a mock salute, Sylvain was gone again. Felix half wondered why Sylvain was being so nice to someone who was a literal intruder, but decided not to dwell on it. It wasn’t worth thinking about. If Sylvain decided to kick him out, he was at a real risk of anything happening, and he didn’t want to take his chances on the street. It took him a minute to be able to pull himself to his feet and slide into the water, but god it felt good when he did, and he closed his eyes, the only thing he could now hear the swilling of water around him, and a kettle boiling in the kitchen. 

Sylvain too, wondered why he was being so nice. Felix had (technically) broken into his house, (literally) destroyed his front room, and was now in his bath. He watched the water in the kettle boil, the steam swirl from the spout, and he blew a raspberry in frustration. He couldn’t quite place it, but there was something about Felix that he recognised. He wondered if it was the torment behind his eyes, the way it looked like his own did when he got off the phone with his family, or when he was hungover. Something inside him pushed him to move close to Felix, and demanded he help him, as if Felix had once done the same for him, and his conscience knew he had a debt to repay. If that  _ was _ the case, Sylvain really wished he could remember why he had needed saving. He stirred the tea, picking the cup up to leave when he jumped his knee against the open door of the washing machine.  _ Right yes, clothes.  _ He hummed a merry tune as he kicked the door of his washing machine closed. What was he supposed to do with an angel? What did they eat?  _ He’s not a dog Sylvain, he’s a person. A person with wings and magical powers, but still a person,  _ he scolded internally, deciding to just ask Felix what he would like to eat. Maybe they could order pizza, everyone liked pizza. He snagged a menu from a drawer as he headed back to the bathroom, picking his way through the mess of his living room. Felix was in the bath when he arrived, a serene smile on his face, and suddenly Sylvain could see exactly how this man was an angel. His smile was so gentle, his eyelashes long, and skin perfect, like it hadn’t even heard of acne or blemishes. Sylvain thought back to his high school pictures, wishing  _ his  _ skin got the no acne memo.

“Stop staring at me.” Felix hadn’t even opened his eyes. 

“I  _ wasn’t  _ staring. I was looking at that wound.” Sylvain lied, but he was now looking at the wound, a clean two inch long entry at best. He knelt down beside the bath, reaching into the water to palpate around it, watching the way the water turned blue as he did. “So this… blue stuff. It’s like blood?” Felix opened one eye, looking down to watch what Sylvain was doing, but he didn’t tell him to stop. 

“It’s called Grace. All angels have it. It changes colour depending on the angel, which is why mine’s teal. It serves as blood, but it’s just angel ‘essence’ for lack of a better term.” Sylvain hummed in thought, pulling his hand out and wiping it on his hand towel that was by the sink. “I can cry it too, drool it, com-” 

“That’s… more than enough. I get it.” Felix stopped speaking with a sly grin on his face. “It’s a clean cut, so there isn’t much I need to do. I mean, I  _ could  _ stitch you back up, but they didn’t cover that in first aid training, so I would probably fuck up. Once you’re out and dry though I can put a dressing on at least, so it doesn’t keep leaking everywhere.” He picked up the mug of tea, handing it to Felix. “If you sit up I’ll wash your hair, I think you got Grace in it whilst puking, and I would rather you didn’t keep moving your arms, it can’t be good for that.” He gestured to the wound. “How did you get it?”

“Got stabbed.”  _ Oh, no shit Sherlock. _

“By?” Felix scowled as he sat up, though Sylvain couldn’t work out if the scowl was in pain, or at his questions. He leant forward, his hair long enough to just about reach between his shoulder blades. Obviously he was taking Sylvain’s offer to wash his hair. 

“Sword.” If the man in the bath wasn't nursing a stab wound, and a supernatural being, Sylvain would have smacked him around the head for his obtuse answers.

“Well no duh genius, I thought you had been stabbed by a carrot.” The shampoo bottle clicked open, and Sylvain squeezed a generous helping into his hand. “Are they following you? Do I need to barricade the door?”

“No. He threw me from Heaven, and has no intention of chasing me. He probably assumed this was a death sentence for me, stranded on Earth where I don’t know anyone or any of their rules.” Felix withheld a soft purr when Sylvain’s hands massaged into his hair, and all the feathers on his wings ruffled a little in pleasure. Sylvain watched the way they all moved and wanted to touch them, but he assumed he shouldn’t. He knew approximately nothing about wings and feathers, and didn’t want to somehow hurt Felix. “You’re thinking about my wings, aren’t you.” 

“Don’t tell me angel powers include mind reading.” Sylvain jibed, giving Felix’s hair a gentle tug. “You’re right though. That… ruffle. It just got me thinking.” Felix had four wings - two pairs dense with ink-blue feathers that shone green in just the right light. There were a few white feathers interspotted, and Sylvain finds himself imagining magpies. A ripple of pink went through them, and when he looked back at Felix’s face, there was a tinge of pink on his ears. 

“Your staring is making me blush.” Felix muttered into the tea cup before taking another sip. 

“So your wings act like a mood ring?” Once he had said those words he knew it was stupid, but he wasn’t entirely sure he cared. 

“I… maybe? I don’t know what a mood ring is. But they sometimes show what emotion I’m feeling if I don’t try actively to suppress it.” Felix didn’t want to say that the soft hands in his hair were what was making him not try and hide the emotions; he didn’t want Sylvain to think he liked him or something. “Should we wrap this up? I don’t know when humans need to sleep, or eat, and you’ve done neither since you came in.” Sylvain’s laugh echoed around the room, and Felix felt bruised. He didn’t like being laughed at. 

“I was planning on ordering pizza, it’s easy, and I wasn’t sure what you liked to eat. Hell I didn’t know if angels  _ ate  _ anything.” Felix paused with his lips on his mug, realising he wasn’t sure on what he liked to eat either. Food wasn’t a thing in Heaven, they just didn’t need it. Tea was mostly a formality between them, a time to talk about things and just relax. 

“I think I will like anything.” Felix decided, closing his eyes as Sylvain tipped some water over his head, rinsing the flower-scented bubbles away. The thought that Sylvain hadn't been laughing _at _him chanced into his mind. He hadn't been trying to be rude, of course it sounded ridiculous that someone didn't understand human customs, who _didn't _understand the way humans worked? Except for non-humans of course - but how many of those did Sylvain meet? Obviously not many, especially not many _knowingly._

As it turns out, Felix did like pizza. He ordered the super spicy one, jalapenos, chorizo, and red onions, with extra chilli sauce, and Sylvain enjoyed the sweeter ham and pineapple one. Felix was laid on the sofa, head against Sylvain’s chest underneath a blanket, because he hadn’t quite adjusted to regulating his own temperature yet, and the human world was definitely colder than he had thought it would be. Sylvain didn’t mind, Felix was comfortable, the weight of his body soothing, and with a belly full of pizza, he felt like he could drift off to sleep right there. Felix however was watching the TV with rapt interest, not having properly seen one before. He knew of them and understood vaguely what the concept of them was (moving pictures of people who filmed it ahead of time so lots of people could watch) - but he had never been in a situation where he’d been still long enough to watch it. 

As he watched, he felt Sylvain’s hand between his shoulder blades press down into the tense muscle, and he relaxed, eyes drooping shut. He had used what little power he had left to put Sylvain’s living room back to rights, fixing the broken things, standing the bookcase back up and reshelving all the books. The act of doing so had tired him out more than he thought it would have done, but then again, it had been an incredibly long day. The whole falling from Heaven business would tire anyone out, but adding in the whole being stabbed thing was just the icing on the exhaustion-shaped cake. He let himself drift off, Sylvain’s hand on his back, and the feel of his chest rising and falling beneath him was more than enough for him to fall asleep, wings shuffling to tuck against his back. 

Sylvain let his fingers play in Felix’s still damp hair, twirling it around his fingers just a little as he kept watching TV, trying not to stare at Felix who he was now certain was asleep. Felix’s wings were fluttering with each exhale, the sound like that of birds all sleeping in a tree. His fingers itched to touch them, skate through the layers, feel if they were as soft as they looked, but he didn’t. Something at the back of his mind told him that they weren’t just for people to randomly touch. He busied his hands instead with picking up his phone, and sending Dimitri a text. 

**[10:37 pm] Sylvain: ** yo mitya, what you and clod during tomorrow

**[10:38 pm] Dimitri: ** His name is Claude -_- and nothing, why?

**[10:40 pm] Sylvain: ** Cloud. im coming round, and im bringing a new friend :) 

**[10:45 pm] Dimitri: ** Claude!! Surely you should ask if you can come round? Rather than inviting yourself 

**[10:55 pm] Sylvain: ** see you and klewd tomorrow

**[11:01 pm] Dimitri: ** Claude. 

Sylvain locked his phone again, the image on his lock screen shining brightly at him in the darkened room. Him, as a baby, with someone who looked a lot like him smiling at the camera, holding baby him in his arms. The screen went blank, the white numbers of his clock coming up instead, and he let his phone slide from his hand onto the floor, closing his eyes. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whomp there it is, their first interaction! I have so much planned for this and I'm really hoping y'all enjoyed this chapter! if you did, please kudos, comment, bookmark, find me on twitter @nothinggoeshere, and join the sylvix discord who are helping me rabble about it using this link - https://discord.gg/rX8PBAz


	3. Chapter Two - Sylvain's Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sylvain takes Felix to meet his lifelong friend Dimitri, and his partner Claude. Of course, now there's an angel in his life, nothing can go smoothly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long to update, something shook my confidence in writing and I haven't written anything since I last updated this, but I'm trying to get back into i. Thank you for being so patient!

Felix slept peacefully throughout the night, only moving once, and that was to smush his face further into Sylvain’s chest, one hand twisting in his t-shirt. When he woke up, it took him a minute to remember where he was, and why he was asleep on top of someone who smelt like cinnamon, and hot chocolate. The smell summoned up an image of pine trees delicately dusted in snow, and glittering tinsel, and Felix wasn’t quite sure why. Sylvain was seemingly still, one hand slung back over his head, shielding his eyes from a stream of daylight coming through the curtains. The other was still resting between Felix’s shoulder blades, the very tips of his fingers just about touching the base of Felix’s wings. In his sleep, Slyvain flexed his fingers into a fist, and then spread them out again, stretching them as far out as they would go, the very tips of his fingers just about touching Felix’s wing. 

What a mistake to have made. His mind was suddenly flooded with ecstasy, eyes rolling back in his head.  _ Oh god. _ Felix let out a shiver, and a soft moan, and Sylvain’s hand relaxed, the touch ending. The electrifying feeling of Sylvain’s fingers in his feathers finished as quickly as it came on. A slow shaky moan left Felix’s lips and he took a second to collect himself. He knew that touching another angel’s wings was something that was only done during moults and ruts, but he didn’t understand why until just then. Heaven had no place for carnal pleasures for the sake of them. A small pang of sadness shot through him, and he thought about the fact he wouldn’t get any help this moult, and would have to somehow deal with it alone. He couldn’t ask Sylvain to help, the human wouldn’t have any idea of what to do. Sylvain made a noise that sounded like a ‘go away’ and then a ‘don’t wanna get up’ before he realised there was someone asleep - awake - on top of him. 

“Mm… Felix?” He moved his hand, making a hissing noise at the sunlight, squinting at Felix. “Mornin’. Wan’ some breakfast? I make good pancakes.” Felix wasn’t sure how Sylvain could wake up and have words just stumble from his mouth as if they’d been waiting on his tongue all night, but it was almost impressive. Sylvain seemed to have a mind that went a mile a minute, never stopping whirring over something or other Felix felt his stomach do something he hadn’t ever felt it do before and he made a face as Sylvain laughed at him yet again. “Sounds like you’re hungry.” Right, yes, food. Food is a thing he has to eat now. 

“Pancakes sound good.” 

Pancakes, as it turns out, wasn’t as good as it first sounded, and Felix discovered he didn’t like sweet things. Still, he ate what he had been prepared with a gracious smile, and Sylvain pulled out a pad of sticky notes to write down ‘Felix: likes spice, does NOT like sweets.’ which Felix thought was nice. Although he also didn’t think it would be that useful, he didn’t really plan on staying here. Nemesis had to be up to something, and once he was back to full strength he not only intended to find out, but he wanted his Angel status back.

“We are going to my friend’s today, thought it would be a chance for you to get out and meet a few more humans.” Sylvain said into his coffee cup, and Felix raised an eyebrow at him over his own. 

“I need to meet more?” He didn’t think that would be a wise idea. He didn’t need to interact with more, he just needed to be able to get home. 

“Well I thought it would be nice. Seeing as you’re not going anywhere else until you’re fully healed. Don’t want you cooped up in my tiny flat the whole time.” Felix didn’t have the heart to argue with those sparkling honey eyes, and begrudi#ngly agreed to going out. 

Sylvain rapped on Dimitri’s door, blowing a bubble with his chewing gum, snapping it loudly. Felix watched him, making more mental notes about humans, though this time the note was  _ Sylvain is an idiot.  _ Earlier on that morning, Sylvain had asked him about his wings and how he would hide them in public, and Felix had to explain that when he had  _ energy,  _ he could essentially make them dematerialise from existence, but that required concentration and a fair amount of energy.  _ ‘Which’ _ he had said,  _ ‘I didn’t have last night, because I was concentrating harder on the fact I was in a lot of fucking pain.’  _ Sylvain agreed that the pain was more distracting than hiding his wings, and dropped the subject.

As the door opened, Dimitri’s face came into view. For a second, and it was only a second, Felix saw a flash of something. Something that wasn’t human. He barrelled his shoulder into Sylvain, knocking him out of the way, and he stood between the two men, hand flashing to the dagger he had attached to his hip that a hoodie borrowed from Sylvain had been hiding. 

“Get back.” He grasped onto the hilt, staring Dimitri down. Dimitri was taller than Felix, and broader, but he wasn't _that _much wider than Sylvain, meaning Felix decided he had a fair chance of being able to take him in a fight. His blonde hair was tied back in a neat pony tail, a few strands of hair falling into his face, which he blew away without moving his hands. Maybe he could use the long hair as an advantage? Somehow cut the hair tie, so his hair would get in his face and bother him enough that Felix could get in there and-

“Felix, what the fuck?” Sylvain placed a hand on his shoulder, looking from the angel to Dimitri in utter bewilderment, distracting Felix from drafting his fight plan. “Felix this is my friend, Dimitri, the one I said we were coming to visit.” Dimitri had both hands raised defensively, palms out, watching Felix. A silver ring glinted from a finger on one of his hands, and Felix tore his gaze away from it. Two of them?

“If you will just come in, I’ll explain everything. Just don’t draw your blade on me. Or on Claude for that matter. If you really want to once you are inside I guess I can't stop you, but I would rather our neighbours didn't see anything.” Felix shook his head stubbornly, refusing to move his hand from the hilt.

“I’m not going into a Lowen’s household.” Dimitri pulled a face and stepped away from the threshold, Claude appearing in the hallway behind him with a spoon in his mouth. 

“Mitya will you please just come in and close the door, there's a breeze and it's - oh.” 

“Oh indeed.” Felix responded, eyes flicking from Claude, to Dimitri, and back. He relaxed just an inch, more because he wasn't fully healed yet and holding a battle prime position was more exhausting than he had anticipated it would be.

“Okay, Mitya, you go in. Sylvain, bring your friend in.  _ Friend, _ try not to kill me, or my fiancé, whilst we hash this out in the living room, okay?” Claude gestured to the people he was speaking to as he said their names, and Sylvain placed a hand on Felix’s hip, an intimate gesture that broke his trance, leaving Dimitri an opening to withdraw back into the house. Felix bristled visibly, but did enter after them, Sylvain close on his heels. 

“I cannot believe I am going into a Lowen’s household of my own free will. What has the world come to?” Sylvain didn’t know what Felix meant by a Lowen, although he guessed it couldn’t be good. How bad could it be though? He had been friends with Dimitri since they were children, and he had never said  _ anything  _ about a ‘Lowen.’ 

Felix stood angrily in the corner of Dimitri’s living room as Sylvain sat in an armchair. It was a comfortable room when  _ someone  _ wasn’t filling it with an icy aura, lots of trinkets from travels back to Claude’s home, scatter cushions and the smell of incense. Dimitri and Claude were sharing the couch, Claude languidly leaning back into the many cushions, ankle resting upon the opposite knee. Dimitri was sat more upright, leaning his elbows on his knees, eyes always falling back to Felix no matter how hard he tried to keep them looking anywhere but. Sylvain just didn’t know what was going on, until Claude finally broke the silence. 

“So, Sylvain, why don’t you tell us about how you met your new friend?” Claude wasn’t looking at Sylvain, in fact he was staring at Felix, green eyes glinting mischievously. Sylvain got the impression that Claude knew he couldn't actually answer that question.

“He…” Sylvain started, but Felix cut him off. 

“Look, let’s cut the small talk okay? We both know you know what I am.” Sylvain felt wounded,  _ he  _ didn’t know they all knew. “And, we both know I know what  _ you  _ are.” Sylvain felt even more left out. Claude was something now too? Had he missed the memo of ‘hey your friends aren’t human, here’s a nice detailed list’?

“I don’t know.” Sylvain chimed in unhelpfully, earning him a glare from all three other men. 

“Sorry Sylv,” Dimitri didn’t sound that sorry. “I didn’t quite know how to tell you.” 

“Tell me what?”

“That he’s a  _ Lowen,  _ did you listen to nothing I said outside?” Felix snapped, and Sylvain had to hold back an eyeroll. 

“Felix, Lowen means nothing to me, I don’t know what the hell you’re on about.” Felix mumbled something under his breath that definitely didn’t sound English, and Claude barked a laugh. 

“Now now, let’s not use that language in my house. Don’t look so shocked, I’ve been around probably longer than you, of course I have a loose grasp of Enochian by now.” Sylvian couldn’t see the bruised look on Felix’s face, who was not impressed in the slightest that his swearing had been caught out. Sylvain wanted to say something about the fact Claude said ‘been around longer than you’, but Dimitri started speaking before he could find the words.

“Sylvain, let me explain. And neither of you two add anything until I am finished either, because if Sylvain goes on being confused a moment longer I think his head is going to explode.”

“Thanks Dim.”

“Shut up. As Felix rightfully said, I am something called a Lowen. Lowens are…" He paused, and waved his hands around as if trying to catch a word. "Think of me as a shapeshifter, but I can only turn into a lion.” Sylvain burst out laughing, slapping his thigh as he did, because what Dimitri was saying was ridiculous. Dimitri? A shapeshifter? Amazing joke. It only took him a second to realise that no one else was laughing. Wait - he was  _ serious?  _

“No, c’mon, like, angels I can believe,” He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder at Felix who said something else in Not-English that made Claude smirk, “but you? A shapeshifter? Quit it.” Dimitri rolled his eyes, giving Felix a look over Sylvain’s shoulder. A look that just said _ sorry. _ And he shifted. 

If he hadn’t have been sitting in a solid armchair, Sylvain would have tipped it over and fallen out of it as Dimitri’s face changed from the calm, almost serene young man he had known since he was a toddler to a  _ lion.  _ His blonde hair grow out into a mane surrounding his face, whiskers sprouting either side of his nose, and his canines grew into large fangs that pressed his lower lip out of the way. 

“What the fuck,” was all Sylvain could say as he tried to collect his thoughts, but the lion face staring back at him was just way too disorientating. “Since  _ when  _ could you become a lion? Is this why you anyway bought all those lion themed things whenever we went anywhere, like some sick joke? Why have I  _ never  _ been told? Claude? You knew about this?” He wondered just for a split second if his face was the only thing that transformed, and was grossed out by himself.  _ Note to self: don’t think about Dimitri’s dick literally ever again.  _ Claude ran his fingers into Dimitri’s mane, finding one of his fluffy ears and he scratched behind it, making Dimitri purr from the depths of his chest. 

“Yes, I know, I’ve known since we first met. You see…”

“You're not human either. Great, just fucking great." 

“Bingo. Sorry Sylv. Except I don’t have a fancy transformation like Mitya, I am what they call a Djinn. Think a genie, but much more handsome.” 

“Do you live in a lamp?” It was Felix’s turn to laugh, despite the fact Dimitri was in full shift. Sylvain pouted, looking back at him over his shoulder. “What, it’s an honest question!” 

“It is an honest question, and no, I don’t. I  _ have  _ a lamp,” he pointed at the antique gold one on the mantelpiece that Sylvain had teased them about before, saying it looked like something a genie would live in. “But I live in the house, with Dimitri. We would have told you sooner but how do you explain to someone you aren’t human?” Dimitri shifted back, shaking his head a little to reorientate himself. 

“You know me Sylvain, I wouldn’t have lied to you if I didn’t feel I had to.” Sylvain waved a hand at him. 

“It doesn’t matter. I probably wouldn’t have believed you. But having a literal angel arrive in my living room kinda makes me more liable to believe in weird shit.” Now to address what was probably the only elephant left in the room. 

“Yes, which leads me to ask how you came in contact with a grounded angel.” 

Felix didn’t like this discussion one bit. He hated all the to-ing and fro-ing about who was who, and what was what, seeing Dimitri in shift, hearing Claude pronounce so casually he was a Djinn and  _ understood  _ Enochian, and Sylvain seemingly take it all in his stride. He hated the fact he seemed to just be able to roll with the punches and take whatever he was handed without entirely freaking out. Why couldn’t Felix be like that, so cool and calm? He huffed through his nose as all three other men turned to look at him, waiting for an explanation about how he came to be on Earth. 

“I broke one of their laws,” He chewed the inside of his cheek, looking down at his feet. “I was saving a human from a demon, and he saw my wings, and my blade, and Nemesis decided that was grounds for an exile.” He  _ tsk _ ed at himself and turned towards the door where he could hear a small bell jingling. A cat had trotted into the room, tail held high, and made a beeline right for Felix, where she entwined herself around his ankles, purring so loudly he could hear it standing up. “Hey kitty.” He bent down, scooping her up into his arms like a baby. “Pretty baby.” Sylvain hadn’t seen something so close to a smile on Felix’s face the entire time they’d been together, and he was pleasantly surprised to find out it was a cat that drew that elusive smile to his face. Maybe he would get one. Then again, Felix probably didn’t plan on being around his that long to make it worth it. Though that made him think- 

“So what do you plan to do now you’re on Earth?” Claude seemed to read Sylvain’s mind, and he hoped that he couldn’t. He was a Djinn after all, whatever that was.  _ Hey Clout, if you can read my mind react to this.  _ Nothing. Okay, so his thoughts were safe then. Felix didn’t really have an answer for him, and was pretending to have not heard him as he petted the cross-eyed Siamese bundled in his arms. “I know you heard me.” Felix managed to get a middle finger up at him without dropping the cat.

“I need to heal fully from my fight with Nemesis. Once I am… I need to find out what happened to Seiros.” He kissed the top of the cat’s head, and she pressed her paws to his chin. “Because I know something  _ did  _ happen.” No one questioned him on it, and he was grateful. He didn’t want to have to explain this nagging feeling inside his chest that something was very, very wrong. “I was hoping to stay with Sylvain for that time, if he will have me. I don’t understand too much about the human realm quite yet, I know I need money for things, and I don’t have a way of getting a job.” Sylvain couldn’t say anything but agree to letting Felix stay with him. He couldn’t turn him away, could he? He had nowhere else to go, no money, no real sense of how things worked. 

“Of course you can stay with me.” He smiled at Felix, who gave him another soft smile of gratitude back. Claude watched the two of them with a wry grin on his face. He could see something strange about the way Felix looked at Sylvain though. The smile he was giving him was real, but didn’t quite reach his eyes, where a sadness seemed to linger. It wasn’t anger, as he had shown earlier when he talked about being exiled, it was as if Felix knew something that Sylvain didn’t. Felix looked at him, and they made eye contact for a second, and in that second Claude knew all he needed to know. He nodded at Felix, a miniscule nod even Dimitri didn’t notice, and Felix looked away again, the sadness just a little lesser now. `

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick author note I didn't want to clog up the beginning notes with; yes the pacing is a little speedy in these chapters, it's meant to be like that. This is all mostly exposition for the real in deep nitty gritty storyline I have planned. So forgive the fact it seems to be paced a little off, it does slow down once the real drama kicks in.   
Anyway, now that's been said please feed the starving writer with kudos and comments, find me on twitter @nothinggoeshere, and join the sylvix discord server using this link: https://discord.gg/rX8PBAz


	4. twitch and smoke

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felix heals, and Sylvain's day job comes into play. Oh, and then Felix's past catches up with him pretty fucking swiftly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO this might have taken a little longer to update but that's because I was writing Sylvix Secret Santa which I will also be posting pretty soon. Things are KICKING OFF so I really hope y'all like this still and will keep up with it as it continues!

Weeks passed, the pages on Sylvain's desktop calendar turning with a _sswp _noise, and Felix healed well. He learnt the swoops in Sylvain's handwriting and what his shorthand meant on the days. "Grc" meant groceries, so food shopping, "Hhc" was household chores like mopping and sweeping the place. The depth of his wound meant Felix couldn’t be sure when he was fully fine, so he kept taking it easy. He watched Sylvain doing the household chores, the way he danced as he mopped the kitchen, and sung as he reaches for the highest places in the apartment. Whilst Sylvain got him a key cut for Felix, and a _annoyingly _cheesy pair of angel wings as the key ring, Felix spent most of his time at Sylvain’s, reading the books he owned on nearly everything. He could have gone down to the library, Sylvain even showed him where it was, but Felix wanted to work through what Sylvain owned first. He set himself the task of  learning all he could about the way the human world worked. He read up on mechanics, horses - Sylvain had a  _ lot  _ of books about horses - and cooking, trying his hand in the kitchen a few times before deciding he simply was not a fan. He still did it though, as a thank you to Sylvain for allowing him to live there rent-free, and taking him out to buy him clothes that allowed him to blend into the world. His favourite things they’d gotten were a sleeveless turtleneck that Sylvain called a ‘crime against fashion’ but admitted Felix could pull off very well, and a pair of tight dark jeans. 

He helped Sylvain with his job sometimes too. Sylvain described his job as a “streamer on Twitch” which Felix learnt to mean he played video games as people watched. He didn’t understand it, but Sylvain spent hours playing, talking into a microphone, laughing at something on the screen, yelling ‘NO NO NO  _ fuck _ ’ when he was killed, and looking at fan art that people drew for him. Inside Sylvain’s office was a comfortable couch, not as soft as the one in the living room, which made it ideal to sit and read on during the long daylight hours. Sylvain never told him to go away during streaming hours, and even introduced him now when he was there as his ‘friend Felix’, to which he usually gave a short wave before going back to reading. 

“So, I’m gonna do a live Q&A for the start of stream today, because I haven’t done one in a while. In five minutes I’ll open up the chat for questions and answer everything for half an hour. So get questions ready!” He muted the microphone, spinning his chair around to look at Felix. “If anyone asks questions about you, do you mind if I tell them you’re my roommate and stuff? I think people are wondering who you are.” Felix shrugged, turning a page and making a mental note of the recipe for a painkiller made from tree bark. 

“Say what you want. It’s not like anyone will recognise me.” Sylvain hummed an agreement, and wheeled his chair across the room to steal a mouthful of Felix’s tea, earning him a kick to the shin. “You can finish that now it’s got your germs on it.” Sylvain laughed through the mouthful of peppermint tea, scooting back to the desk, taking the mug with him. “And you can make me a new one when you’re done!” Sylvain flipped him the bird over his shoulder and unmuted his mic with a loud  _ ‘And we’re back!’  _ that just made Felix roll his eyes. He never saw Sylvain as animated as when he was on camera, and it both amused and disgusted him. It was just so fake, the way he spoke and acted. Sylvain wasn’t  _ like  _ that. He was much more than the toothy smiles he gave to the camera, the loud goofy words. What Felix learnt from Sylvain was that less is more. The smaller the smile, the softer his voice, the more he meant it. He had also seen him playing video games in the living room; he was genuinely very good, but he played a role of an idiot on stream, so he died more times than he needed, missed shots he wouldn’t have, purely to play right into the viewers hands. “Question time, let’s go.  _ Jerleo101,  _ Felix is… hey Flick, what you reading?” Felix rolled his eyes at the stupid nickname Sylvain had given him over the past few weeks. 

“It’s a book about medicinal practises before modern discoveries.” He held it up so the cover could just be seen on camera, and Sylvain gave him a thumbs up. 

“See, he’s a smart cookie.” He carried on answering questions, about what he was streaming next, why he was ‘so bad’ at certain things, what the next convention he had been invited to was, all sorts of random things. As the half hour mark crept up, he announced he would only answer two more. “ _ Greeneyedwyvern,  _ I am drinking peppermint tea I stole from Felix. Once I’ve done these questions I’m going to load a game, go make him a fresh one, and get on with the stream. And the last one for today is…” He squinted a little at the name, “ _ TwistedKronya? No. T-W-S-1-T-DKronya,  _ Felix is my roommate, he moved in a few weeks ago after his previous living arrangement fell through,” bad pun on his part, earning him a stony glare from Felix he could see in the live recording, “And he will be here until he decides he’s fed up of me. Now, on with the game!” 

Three hours later, the stream was over, and Sylvain signed off, double checking the camera and microphone were switched off before he turned around to Felix. At some point during the third round of Sylvain dying miserably in League of Legends, Felix had fallen asleep, book open flat on his chest, hair messy on the side of his face. Sylvain dimmed the lights as he left the room, not willing to wake him up for the sake of it. He instead busied himself in the kitchen, deciding he wanted to cook something nice. Stream had gone so well, all the questions pleasantly respectful of Felix’s privacy, only the last one a little intrusive. They were a new subscriber as well, a name he hadn’t recognised as having seen before. Meh. New people joined in watching all the time. 

_ Ashes flew in a plume into his face, and Felix coughed harshly, burying his face in the crook of his elbow. There was a fire somewhere, he couldn’t see it but it was engulfing him, trying to trap him and burn him away to cinders. He couldn’t extend his wings for fear of the feathers charring to soot and he barrelled forwards, shoulder breaking down a door he hadn’t seen. He was in his - Sylvain’s - living room, and the fire was licking its way across the room, up the curtains, over the bookshelf, closing in on him. Sylvain was trapped in the middle of the room, a sword pointed at him by someone Felix couldn’t recognise, a dark feminine figure with long swirling tassel tails on her coat, hair a glowing orange in the firelight. Felix dived at her, hands wrapping around her throat, screaming go, Sylvain GO, and he heard the footsteps thump past him, the door latch snick open, and he was gone. He was gone, and Felix was alone with his hands around the throat of the red-haired attacker. The throat of -- Sylvain? His eyes watered as his mouth tried to move, hands that had been pushing at Felix to get him off going limp. No? No but Sylvain had escaped, he had sure Sylvain escaped. He wouldn’t hurt Sylvain.  _

Felix sat up sharply from the nightmare, blinking rapidly as the taste of fire lingered on his tongue. He could still feel the feeble beat of Sylvain’s heart against his hands where nightmare-Felix had crushed the life from him, and he rubbed his palms on his thighs, the rough fabric helping dispel the phantom pulse. When it was gone, but the taste in his mouth remained, he realised there was a very good reason for that. Grey smoke was sweeping in underneath the door, leaking into the clean air that Felix was breathing but tainting the taste. He leapt off the sofa and yanked the door open, strength surging through him, the door flying off its hinges. A fire was seeping around the room, the soft furnishings blackened and crumbling, all the other doors inaccessible except for the front door, the one someone was standing in front of. 

“Felix Hugo Fraldarius,” it wasn’t Sylvain speaking, “Oh how sweet it is to see you.” He didn’t know the voice, didn’t understand how they knew his whole name. “It’s sad though, such a pretty angel grounded like an injured bird.” He hissed, unsheathing his dagger from its place upon his belt, the blade growing back to her full sized sword form. Her name, engraved on the hilt shone as she did so,  _ Céleste,  _ the blade of the stars. 

“Where is Sylvain?” It wasn’t a question, it was a demand. He twirled the blade in his hands and positioned it pointed at the intruders throat, the road of the flames behind him making him just a little nervous. 

“Oh, the pretty red-haired boy? He went out, needed some groceries for the dinner he was preparing for his  _ roommate,  _ and I slipped in as he left. Poor thing, he’s going to find his apartment burnt down  _ and  _ his roommate dead.” She pouted, and Felix lunged, the threat sinking in. Her eyes flickered black, and she kicked him in the gut, repelling him backwards. His smaller set of wings expanded, keeping him balanced as he hopped back forwards, dodging a volley of flaming books that tumbled from the shelf that collapsed by his side. 

“Why is a demon trying to kill an exiled angel?” He spat, weapon bouncing off some twin daggers she had pulled out from somewhere. Where could she have stashed weapons in that skin tight outfit? She cackled, blades swinging through the air, forcing him to step backwards yet again, cornered by the flaming wall. 

“Nemesis say  _ hi. _ ” She giggled, and his blood ran cold. He knew it. He  _ knew  _ it. He ducked as her left arm flew over his head, and he made a break for it, shooting under her arm towards the now unguarded door. Her hand buried in his wing, pulling out a handful of feathers. He yelled in pain, spinning for long enough to shout a spell, a blue fireball shooting from his palm into the centre of her chest, staggering her. Without a second thought, he broke the door down, and despite the now stinging wing he jumped down the stairwell, using his wings to guide him to the bottom safely, although his ankles weren’t entirely happy with the rough landing. He furled his wings in, limping slightly out of the front door,  _ Céleste  _ sliding back into her sheath before any humans could see in the gathering crowd on the pavement. 

Sylvain was part of the rabble outside, ignoring the way the pint of milk he was holding was freezing his fingers as he stared up at the windows he knew to be his. Everything he owned was in there, but that wasn’t what was worrying him. He last saw Felix asleep on the couch in his streaming room, would he have woken up in time? What if he was still asleep, smoke stealing his breath one flume at a time, each one lasting less than the previous? He wanted to break through the crowd and run in, grab his hand and drag him out, but the fire service was there, sirens wailing at a deafening pitch, and he couldn’t slip around the firefighters to get in. He knew basic fire safety, no one goes back into a burning building. There was a rush of gasps from the crowd, and he stood on tiptoes to see over their heads, heart singing when he saw  _ Felix,  _ limping from the door. 

“Felix!” He shouted, dropping the milk and pushing his way through, gathering the angel in his arms into a punishing hug. “Gods, I’m glad you’re okay. I only went to get milk, what happened?” Felix’s face was like thunder, and Sylvain knew that didn’t bode well. The only time he’d seen that expression was when he first met Dimitri, and even then, this was something else. 

“We need to get to Claude’s house.” He pulled away from Sylvain’s embrace, but let his hand find Sylvain’s, lacing their fingers together, refusing to let go. He wasn’t about to let Sylvain out of his sight now he knew that not only was Nemesis a demon infiltrating Heaven, but he was sending assassins after him.

Sylvain let himself be dragged, not questioning Felix’s motives until they finally reached Claude’s house. He had never been gladder they lived within walking distance. Except for maybe that time he got drunk, lost his shirt, lost his  _ keys,  _ and was stuck in the blizzard returning from probably the  _ best  _ New Years party he had ever been to. When they arrived, Felix hammered on the door with a closed fist, in a way that did finally make Sylvain concerned. Felix was never  _ this  _ animated when it came to going to their house. Since their first meeting he tolerated Dimitri a lot better, but still wouldn’t turn his back on him, nor would he allow himself to be in the same room alone. 

“Claude! Dimitri! Open up.” He shouted, hearing a clatter as he obviously startled someone inside. “It’s Felix. And Sylvain. But it’s mostly Felix, and we need to talk.” It was Dimitri who opened the door, shirtless, and suspicious. He didn't even have the time to process the whole shirtless thing, his mind was too busy processing the whole 'assassins' thing that was going on.

“Felix? What do you- hey!” The angel pushed past him into the hallway, yanking Sylvain in, who mouthed a  _ sorry  _ to Dimitri as he passed. “Yes, sure, come in, you’re welcome.” The sarcasm dripped from his words but Felix couldn’t find it in himself to care, wheeling on him now in the cramped, photograph-laden space so that Felix could catch them up on what the rush was.

“Nemesis, in Heaven? Yeah the one I mentioned when we came round before. Yeah. Well, he’s a demon. He’s taken over Heaven. That’s why he exiled me, because he knew I could work out he wasn’t an angel or a god. He didn’t know I hadn’t died, and he’s sending demon assassins after me.” Sylvain looked from one to the other. If someone had told him a few weeks ago he would be hearing his best friend and ‘roommate’ discussing demon assassins, he would have told them to fuck off. Though with all honesty, if someone had told him an hour ago there would be demon assassins, he would have told them to fuck off too. Actually hearing it from the horse’s -  _ angel’s? _ \- mouth, though, was a whole different story. 

“I’m sorry, someone’s trying to assassinate you?” Sylvain started, but he was cut off by Dimitri ushering them both into the large kitchen over to the table. 

“Sit.” Sylvain did, but Felix didn’t, choosing instead to close the curtains above the sink and in front of the french doors leading out to a manicured garden. “You say Nemesis is sending demons for you? What makes you so sure?”

“They burnt down my house.” Sylvain was the one to answer that, and Dimitri let out a tired sigh, pulling his phone out of his pocket to send Claude a text, summoning him home at the earliest convenience. “I did wonder why it was on fire, I didn’t think I’d left the stove on.” He didn’t add the fact he wouldn’t have left it on with Felix in the house, not wanting to leave Felix in any sort of possible danger. “And I didn’t think you would set it on fire. You’re not the best in the kitchen, but you aren’t that bad.” Felix double checked all the curtains were properly closed, before he sat down, burying his face in his hands. 

“This wasn’t meant to  _ fucking  _ happen, how could I let a human get tangled up in Other World business?” He slammed a fist down, the table legs creaking underneath the force. “Why didn’t he just kill me when he had the damn chance? Why send me down here, and force me to run like a cat from a mouse?” The other fist followed the same course as the first, table whining again, and Dimitri’s look was warning enough. 

“Don’t punish my table because they’re playing you like a fiddle. Here is the safest place for you both. I can smell demons coming from a mile away, they… are distinctive. Claude can add enchantments to the building to protect Sylvain. If it comes down to it, we will fight. They won’t expect you to be hiding with a Lowen and a Djinn, that is one thing we can be certain of.” Felix didn’t acknowledge his words, but knew he was right. He didn’t have to like it, but it was the truth. Of all the places he could have gone in this world, the first five guesses would never be that he had walked right into grabbing distance of a Lowen. 

Felix sat on the edge of the bed Dimitri and Claude were letting them share, as Sylvain snored behind him, tangled up in a mess of blankets. He chewed on his bottom lip for a second before he got up, and snuck downstairs into the kitchen to make a mug of tea. He couldn’t stop himself from thinking about what had happened the previous evening, the smell of smoke still permeating in his nose. He pulled himself up to sit on the counter, although he knew Dimitri would tell him to get down if he saw him, and took a sip of the scalding tea, sticking his tongue out as he burnt it. 

“Idiot. Let it cool before you drink it next time.” Dimitri’s voice floated over to him from the doorway and he glanced up over the rim of his cup. 

“I’ll keep that in mind.” He set the cup down to let the drink cool, looking over at Dimitri. He was in his pyjamas, plaid pants and barefoot, with a soft grey t-shirt depicting a cartoon lion. His hair was a mess, blonde tresses waving down by the side of his face, tickling his chin. “You want one? Water’s still warm.” Dimitri nodded, pulling a chair out from under the table to sit on, crossing one leg over the other, watching Felix. It wasn’t a suspicious watching, just a calm one, almost friendly. They sat in comfortable silence as Felix sorted the drink, something they hadn’t done before. Dimitri had his arms resting loosely in his lap, an open posture, not threatening, not closed off. He was  _ trying  _ to be friends with Felix. He wanted to earn his trust, for Sylvain’s sake.

“You and Sylvain seem to be getting on well.” Felix poked the tea bag with the spoon he’d used for his own, watching the golden colour seep into the water. 

“He’s nice to me. Doesn’t ask too many questions about things. I appreciate not having to explain myself constantly.” He added a dash of milk and flicked his finger towards the drink, making the spoon stir itself around. “He keeps a note of things I like. Things I don’t like. He’s thoughtful like that.” Dimitri held his hands out for the cup as Felix floated it over to him, setting it down on a flower patterned coaster. 

“He’s like that. He acts the fool, pretends that he doesn’t care, that nothing bothers him, but truly? There’s a lot going on under there. Has he ever told you about his brother?” No, he hadn’t. Felix shook his head, wondering what had been so bad about this brother that Sylvain had told him about this girl he had spent the night with a week ago (In excruciating detail) but not about his own flesh and blood. “Well, he has an older brother. His name is Miklan, and when Sylvain was--” Dimitri stopped, face Shifting into that of the lion with ease. Felix put his cup down and leant forwards, both hands placed on the counter in case he needed to get off of it. Dimitri’s nose twitched and his eyes flickered towards the front door. 

“What is it?” Felix barely spoke under a breath, he knew Dimitri could hear him. Just as the Lowen’s whiskers twitched for a second time, the French Doors to their left exploded in a rainfall of glass. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SOOOOO I hope you liked this with the drama coming in finally! If you want to come and have a 'coffee' with me, please find me on my Twitter @nothinggoeshere - where you can ask for my discord if you want to chat more :)

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this introduction to no gods no masters! Please kudos, comment and subscribe ready for the next parts! Find me on twitter @nothinggoeshere, and join the Sylvix discord server who I've been bouncing ideas off at here: https://discord.gg/rX8PBAz


End file.
